Iowa Estate Plan

Currently in Iowa, if a decedent owns personal property that totals $25,000 or less, and that property would normally pass under a Will or the intestate statute, you can skip probate with just an affidavit .  The governor recently signed a bill that increased that figure up to $50,000 (for deaths after July 1, 2018), along with a few extra new additions to the affidavit. So...what does that mean lawyer boy?  This: If the dead person owned real estate, the affidavit doesn't work. If the dead person owned other types of property that all together total more than $50,000, the affidavit doesn't work. You still have to pay inheritance taxes , if any are due. You still have to pay the creditors, if any. You still have to pay the state back for any Medicaid debts due. Otherwise, you use the affidavit to transfer those small estates. Here's a common scenario where the affidavit could be used: John Smith passes away.  When he died, he owned his truck, lived in a...

This question has been raised before in meeting with me after a death: "Since dad had a will when he died, why is it necessary that we go through probate?"  Answer: basically, because the law requires it.   Even though someone has a will when they die, the probate process is necessary for several reasons and just having a will isn't sufficient by itself to deal the process.  For example: Probate establishes that it is a valid will of the deceased .  If there are questions about whether the individual had sufficient mental capacity, or was unduly influenced, or if they followed the legal requirements of executing a will.  (witnesses, etc.)  Probate establishes the will as legally valid. Probate establishes and identifies the assets of the decedent.  If you are a beneficiary of an estate, how do you know what you are entitled to receive (I.e, 40% of the estate) if you don't know about all of the assets. Probate requires an inventory to be filed...

Cemetery of Chettle parish church ( Johan Doe ) / CC BY-SA 3.0 The Iowa Supreme Court issued an interesting ruling today on the disposition of one's bodily remains.  Short summary: Wife dies.  Husband and wife were "on a long break" after 43 years of marriage, but had never formally divorced or filed for a legal separation.  Wife had given instructions in her Last Will as to where she wanted to be buried, verbally told her family members (10 kids!!) and wrote a letter to her son, that was shared with her sister, the executor and the kids about her final wishes.  Husband didn't want wife to be buried in Montana, as she desired and expressed to everyone, so he went ahead and buried her here in Heaven  a/k/a Iowa.  Royal rumble in the courts ensued. Think you have the right to determine what happens to your body after you have "departed planet Earth"?  Unless you take your body with you, guess again.  In the Court's ruling, you have no right...

In a follow-up to a recent post I had on the Iowa Law Blog, Jason Clayworth of the Des Moines Register recently updated the situation concerning a young girl's application for social security benefits as a result of her father's death. A federal judge has overturned the rejection of benefits and thus permits her to receive benefits. The article continues to point out that legislators are examining long overdue updates to the Iowa statute to address these types of situations. The Social Security Administration has until January 11, 2010 to appeal. The complexities that are involved in cases like this are challenging. A recent Probate Section meeting of the Iowa State Bar began to examine some of the issues and an approach to take with this issue. The discussion revealed that there is a split in the probate section as a result of numerous questions and possible approaches. Beyond the basic philosophical question of is this "right", there other other related matt...

Besides taxes, the other sure thing in life is that it comes to an end eventually. A common question becomes "what's next?" (I'll skip the whole afterlife heaven and hell discourse and stick to the worldly issues.) And of course you have the whole " what to do with the body issue ". Depending on the planning that was done beforehand will dictate a lot that will be done afterwards. For example, if the decedent properly used a revocable trust , it may not be necessary to go through the probate process. Good planning and organization prior to our "time" is important in helping to alleviate the work that our family and friends are forced to go through. Transfer of Assets If all of the assets were held jointly , it may not be necessary to go through the probate process, although there may be some other advantages with going through probate. Also, if the asset has a named beneficiary (e.g. life insurance, IRA, etc.), that asset will pass automati...